The First Ever CS:GO Major in London Is Coming, Courtesy of FACEIT

ACounter-Strike: Global Offensive Major is to be held in London later this year, the first Major championship ever to be hosted in the UK. Set at the Wembley SSE Arena, up to 10,000 fans will gather to watch the best teams vie for $1 million in prize money.

Set at the Wembley SSE Arena, up to 10,000 fans will gather to watch the best teams vie for $1 million in prize money.

Considering the viewing figures of previous Majors —the Boston Major final attracted over 1.1 million viewers earlier this year, a Twitch record—this will be among the most significant esports events ever held in the UK. FACEIT will be running every phase of the competition held from Sept. 20 to 23, from the open qualifiers to the grand finals. There’s no word yet on where the early stages will be held.

“It will be the largest esports event in the UK’s history in terms of size and viewership,” Michele Attisani, co-founder of of FACEIT told BBC News. Attisani says it’s due to “an appreciation of how the fans and community have been growing the scene.” His claims are well supported; Newzoo’s analysis reported an esports audience of 6.5 million people in the UK—10 percent of the countries’ total population (65.64 million as of 2016).

This is the first time FACEIT will host a CS:GO Major, with previous Major tournaments being held by ELEAGUE, PGL, ESL, DreamHack, and MLG. Valve has consistently changed the organizers of the event, signalling somewhat of a hands-off approach when it comes to CS:GO esports. In contrast, Valve held the reins for it’s Dota 2 Majors up until last year, when it awarded its highest tier competitions to third-party organizers, barring The International.

This will be FACEIT’s first CS:GO Major, with previous tournaments held by ELEAGUE, PGL, ESL, DreamHack, and MLG.

A new tournament organizer isn’t the only change that’s coming for the Major this year. Valve overhauled the Major’s structure late last year, just in time for the ELEAGUE Boston Major 2018, splitting the competition into three stages, as well as including the Offline Qualifiers as an official part of the tournament. This change resulted in an increase of teams participating, from 16 to 24. ELEAGUE’s Boston Major concluded on Jan. 28 earlier this year, with Cloud9 winning the title, and walking away with $500,000.

FACEIT is an independent online competitive gaming platform, founded in 2011. Six million players log in to compete in over 12 million game sessions monthly across a wide range of titles. The company also runs the Esports Championship Series (ECS). The event is broadcasted on YouTube, after a deal was struck year with FACEIT to gain exclusive broadcasting rights for the competition.

FACEIT have yet to release the full format of the event, though it’s expected to be unveiled in the coming months. Tickets for the London CS:GO Major go on sale April 2.

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